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Relaxing games tips?

I'm looking for games to just chill out with, not a specific genre or style, just things that aren't stressful or require complex problem solving. It's easy to just say "casual games" but I'm looking for something a bit more involved than Peggle here.

So, any tips for games to play when you come home after a tiring day and want to just curl up with a blanket on the armchair with a cup of cocoa and relax for a bit?

Something like the Total War games maybe? They may be slightly complex, but there's no real time component, so you can make moves on your own time. There's also Audiosurf; pick some chilled music and calmly play along to that. Don't have to play for long, so time investment isn't a problem.

Seems like all the Total Wars have demos on Steam too, as well as Audiosurf.

The Sims. This was always mine, anyway. The building, management, and presentation are all so pleasant, and the degree of challenge, the amount of resistance when trying to move up the social ladder or keep a large household going, is just right. I've sunk countless carefree hours into that game.

As for recent stuff, Anno 1404 is an unusually friendly (in ease of use and in attitude) city builder, and city builders are intrinsically relaxing so that's just icing on the cake. There is complex problem solving, but you're generally free to solve those problems at your own pace.

Check out Flow by Thatgamecompany, it's a really relaxing flash game about eating other underwater creatures and growing larger. On the PS3, the same company made Flower, which is also very relaxing (and very beautiful). Actually, anything by them fits the bill.

Also Audiosurf on mono with some ambient music is good, and another +1 for the suggestions of Undergarden and Sims 3 though don't make a large household. Also Zen bound 2 (on Steam) is kind of chilled.

A relaxing game for me is a regular game with a different mindset/game settings. But some games never qualify, games that will punish you with persistent punitive measures, like mmo's with harsh death penalties or the die in lava lose everything of minecraft.

But games with death, like spelunky, simple action games, stealth games (lots of lulls in the action(I mean quiet moments, not lulz)), rts comp stomps (skirmish games against easy AI, (campaigns are almost never relaxing because of stupid triggers), a game I have found very suitable was torchlight but now I can't stand to play it because its so inane between configuring skills and shopping/equipment management.

I am a big sufferer of multiplayer anxiety, I've left multiplayer games sitting on the shelf because of the fear of screwing up, but the right game played with friends chatting over the mic is a wonderful candidate.

I usually go for Left 4 Dead 2 or Dead Space 2, both on normal, if I want to relax with a game.

What? Left 4 Dead is an intense multi-player co-op shooter garnished with horror elements. Thatís about as relaxing as a sandpaper thong.

Black & White is pretty relaxing. Itís basically a pet simulator with a minor degree in strategy. Mostly you can just faff around and train your creature at your own pace.

Sid Meier's Simgolf is pretty nonchalant. You run a gold course which doesn't have the high maitenance demands of Theme Park. You can create a golfer and challenge your visitors to matches any time you like. Might be a hard game to find though.

Osmos and Eufloria are quite relaxing... but also quite boring at times, I'd say..
I found both Portal games quite relaxing, Braid is great, Chime is also a great little game (if you like music).
But my favorite in "calm" games is The Longest Journey (and Dreamfall)...
And Minecraft.

The Longest Journey was one of my first thoughts, though point & click adventure is only relaxing if you’re not the type to go stark raving bonkers after wasting three hours trying to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing next. Dreamfall is much more forgiving in that aspect, so I’d recommend it.

I find Just Cause 2 quite relaxing. Floating around the islands, blowing stuff up, stealing vehicles, lazily racing police cars. I guess it's because it's fairly easy - as long as you don't actively seek out trouble by blowing up a military base, there are never enough enemies to be a significant challenge.